Process of producing artificial ice.



H. D. POWNALL.

PROCESS OF PRODUCING ARTIFICIAL ICE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 21, m3.

Patented Apr."9 5,1916.

2 SHEETSSHEET 1.

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H. D. POWNALL.

PROCESS OF PRODUCING ARTIFICIAL ICE- I APPLICATION FILED IUNEZIfIQIEL 1,180,533. v Patented Apr. 25,1916.

2 S:HEETSSHFEVET 2.

Guam-W Improvements in Processes otl roducinfg Artificial Ice, 01 which the follow ng s a specification.

)roved method of iroducin )ure and clear l l, o l

cans, and whereby a White or discolored core" HENRY in. 'POWNALL, or .C-ANTONK', onion To all whom it may concern:

it known that I, Hnxni D. PowINA LL, a citizen of the UnitedStates', resldlng at- Gantom in the county of Stark and Stateof- ()lno, have invented certain new anduselul My lni entlon relates to improved method or process of producing artlhcial ice.

' One of its objects .is'to' provide an imartificial icelrom rawwater; I

Another ob ect isto provide a process of producing clear and pure artificial ice in is avoided. I p

' Another olnect 15 to provide amethod ot producing artificial ice in wh ch the nnpurities rejected by the forming ice arepro gressively eliminated. f

Another obJect is to provide a method of forming artificial ice in which raw and dis- 5 tilled water are successively employed in the formation of theice blocks.

My invention also comprises certain details ofthennethod components and theirf order or sequence, all of \vhnlhwi'ill be fully set forth in the description ot .the aecon'i panying drawingsJin which; 1

Figure l. a top plan view of one form of apparatus adapted to carry outv my nnproved process. I? is a vertical section' through the, same on line .2 of Fig. 1,. Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional detail, through one of the ice molds in an early stagepf the freezing process. Fig. -.l is a view similar to Fig. 3 with the ice blocleeompletely frozen.

ln the nninu'lacture of artificial ice from raw water, that is water which has not been distilled, the raw water contains certain imapui'ities which may be; designated as silt;

certain salts in solution 5' and certain gases in solution, any one of -which would tendt'o prevent the production of pure and clear ice, most acceptable to the market. Such water may also contain bacteria and other liv ng organisms which it desirable to reinbife for hygienic and sanitary reasons, and my improved method isadapted to eliminate all o'fsaid foreign substances and organisms,

and to produce from raw water artificial ice of ahigh grade or purity and transparency throughout. i

In carrying out my improved method I specification of Letters Patent. I

Application filed June 21, 1318. Seria1NoI'774,995.i'

r in v sa T T OFFICE preferably employ atankA inyWhich -a Ee *tmgeratu g medlum is to be -circulated. A series 'of ce molds Bare located systemati-' cally inthe tankso-astodeavenarrow lanes or chahnels in which the refrigerating medium circulates and comes in contact with the side walls of the ice molds. Eachoitthe ice molds isdetachably seated over an openmg q in the bottom of the tank,;and an insulating material 2 is located in the bottom of the tank surrounding the lower portion aiea amsr. 5,1916,

of the ice -molds"to"a point sli "litly above I the-"bottoms 0f;tlie,ice m0lds;to seal the; ]O1I1tS.: 1IId to control the freezing in the molds so that theyfreezing' WllllbB practia cally uniform from to -to bottom alongthe sides of the. ice molds, and so that it; yvillnot freeze more rapidly or more extensively near the bottom of the molds. a I

Coupling" members "3 are attached near the center to the bottoms b of the respective ice molds, and aserie's of conduits are connected to saidcoupling member to supply raw water, "or distilled water to' said ice molds; to Withdraw water from said ice molds; and to supply air under pressure to said molds.

D represents" a supply reservoir in which the raw Water is cooled to near the freezing point. This reservoir Disconnected bya valve controlled pipe el'with a raw vWater settling reservoir E. A main Water supply pipe 5 with branches "6 leads from the pipe ttocoupling members'3 of the respective ice 1nolds, said main pipe being'pro'vided with a val 'e], A branch Sharing a valve 9 i's connected to a distilled water reservoir 1 i e l A returnmainlfl with branches 11 from :the coupling members 3 of the respective ice molds leads to the raw'water reservoir E and 1s prov ded with a controlling valve. 12 and .a drain branch controlled by 'valve. 14

Thuseither raw water or distilled water may be'supplied to theice molds as desired, and the drain valve 1% enables all or any portion of the water desired to be drained from the ice molds and the main and return conduits leading to and from said molds.- -An- :under pressure 1s supplied, preferably fromhan elevatedreservoir or ma1n,.not'

shown, to separate and independent aircon-'- du'its 15' leading to the respective coupling members 3. Said coupling members v.arei

preferably so arranged thatthe incoming anand water onto" the ice mold througlra common passage 16, and so that the air causes a circulation of water to and from the ice mold, as indicated in l ig'. 3. which circulation is maintained during the free ing of the raw water. The water exit 17 in the coupling member 3 is funnel shaped so as to direct any sediment or solid matter into the exit branch pipe 11.

Any type of brine cooler or means for refrigerating the cooling medium may be employed. As illustrated, H represents a brine cooler in which a liquefied gas is 10- rated in a container 18 and surrounding the lines 19 through which the brine or refrigerating medium is circulated by a propeller 20 to cool the same. The brine cooler is divided into a central compartment 21 and two shallow troughs 22 at the sides, and a conduit :Z-t leads from the compartment 21 to the tank A near the bottom, While a conduit 25 leads from-the tank to the trough of the cooler near the top of the tank. A. partition 26 causes the cooling medium to flow in aloop shaped path through the tank A around the ice molds and back to the cooler.

Valves 2? and 28 in the conduits 24 and serve to cut off the circulation of the cooling medium. A by-pass conduit 29 in which there is a circulating pumpBO and a. coil 31 immersed in the water of reservoir D enables the cooling medium trapped in the tank A by closing the valves 27 and 28 to be circulated through saidcoil and its temperature raised thereby to release the icelrom the molds in harvesting.

i In practice raw water is supplied by valve controlled pipe 32 to reservoir Dwhere it is chilled and then is drawn into the reservoir E and through the pipes 5 and 6 to the ice molds, a uniform level being maintained by means of airoverllow pipe 33 at the tank E. The drain valve let being closed, and

. valve 1'2 opened, the raw water is free to circulate from the reservoir E through the respective ice molds and return to said reservoir. and due to the slow moving current in said reservoir l) the solid matter will settle to the bottom of said reservoir and become eliminated, and may be blown oil from time to time through a blow ofi' pipe. Air is admitted to the respective ice molds through the conduits l5 and the cooling medium is circulated through the tank A to and from the brine cooler 11. The air escaping through the passages lo and molds ll causes water i'rom tank E to blow continuously tlnough the pipes and 6 to the respective ii-n molds and after making a loop shaped circuit through the. ice molds in contact with the taco ol. the forming ice as indicated in Fig, :3. to return to the tank E through pipes I and. 11. carrying with it any solid impurities rlllll as silt or salts thrown out of solid ion, whilegascs in olution are detached from the lure of the forming ice by the uatcr llil'i'lll. or carried away with the esraping air. and any organisms going with and settling out with the silt, or remaining in the unfrozen water.

The freezing progi .sses steadily iinvardly from the side walls of the molds until only a small open channel as indicated in the right hand mold of Fig. 2 remains, whereupon the valves T and 12 are closed and the supply of air to pipes 15 cut oil'. The valve 1+ is then opened and the raw water remaining in the ice molds and in the con dilits 10 and ii is drained out and preferably wasted. lhe raw water remaining in conduits 5 and 6 is negligible in quantity, and may be left to mingle with the distilled water or may be drained therefrom by a separate drain in pipe 5 similar to drain l l- 11 pipe 10. After the raw water has been drained from the molds. and valve ll closed the valve 9 is opened and distilled water allowed to flow from tank F through pipes 5 and 6 to occupy the space in the center or core of the ice blocks in the molds, where the distilled water remains quiescent until frozen solid, as indicated in Fig. l, where the dotted lines indicate the division lines between the raw and distilled water ice. The valves 27 and 28 are then closed and the valves of the by pass :29 opened and the pump 30 started which raises the temperature of the brine in tank A, to release the ice. from the molds, and at ,the same time chills a body of water in reservoir D with which to refill the molds.

I have described the core of the partially formed blocks as being refilled with distilled water, but the term distilled water is intended to include any degasified water or water so treated and purified as to produce when congealed a clear or transparent core in the ice block. and the claims are to be interpreted accordingly.

.lt will be observed that my process not only involves the vertical "circulation of water through the mold, but a continuous supply and escape of water to and from the bottom of the mold. To maintain the water at a ma-determined level l preferably give the outlet port just sullicicntly a greater area than the inlet port.

The water escaping around and below the raw water lnlet contains the separated impurities which are thus prevented from The method of process herein set forth is capable of considerable modification without departing from the principle of my invention.

Having described my invention, claim is: t

1. The process of producing artificialice comprising subjecting raw water simultane ously in a plurality of ice molds to refrigerat tion through the sidewalls of the molds, circulatingraw water in a circuitous route to and from the respective molds during the, refrigerating operation, until the ice formed occupies a major portion ofthe space within the molds with unfrozen cores open at top and bottom, simultaneously draining the unfrozen water from said cores through the bottoms of said molds, simultaneously refilling said core spaces through the bottoms of the molds with distilled water, and continu what I ing the refrigeration until the distilled Water is congealed to form, with the previously formed ice, solid blocks.

2. The process of producing artificial ice comprising first subjecting raw water in an ice mold. to refrigeration through the side Walls of the mold, and circulating raw water to and from themold, until the ice formed occupies the major portion of the space within the mold with an unfrozen coreopen at top and bottom, then draining the unfrozenwater from the mold at the bottom,and refilling the space so drained with distilled water introduced through the bottom of the mold, and continuing the refrigeration until a f the distilled water is congealed to form, to-

gether with the previously formed ice, asolid block.

3. The process of producing artificial ice comprising first subjecting raw water in an ice mold to refrigeration through its side walls and agitating saidraw water to free the forming ice from impurities, until the ice so formed occupies the major portion of the space within the mold leavingan unfrozen core open at top and bottom, then draining the unfrozen raw water and impurities from the mold at its bottom and re filling the space. so drained withv distilled water introduced tlllOllg'fi tlt6- lOQtt0m,0f the mold and continuing the refrigeration until the distilled water is congealed to form, together with the previously formed ice, a solid block. 1

4. The process of producing artificial ice comprising subjecting raw water simultaneously in a plurality of ice molds to refrigeration through the side walls of said molds,

agitating the raw Water in. said respective a d bottom and occupying the major portion of the respective molds are formed, then simultaneously drainingthe unfrozen raw water at the bottom from said molds and re filling the space so drained from the bottom with distilled water, and continuing the refrigeration until the distilled water is also congealed to form with said previously formed ice solid blocks.

5. The process of producing artificial ice comprising subjecting raw water simultaneously in a plurallty of ice molds to refrigera t on through the side walls of said molds, in-

troducing air under pressure at the bottom of said respective molds to agitate the raw water and separate impurities from the forming ice therein, thereby producing tubular blocks of ice from raw water open at dium exteriorly in contact with the side walls of a plurality of ice molds, and subrefrigerating action of said refrigerating medium, admitting air under pressure to sa d respective molds at the bottom to cause an agitation of the raw water in the respective molds and an elimination of impurities from the forming ice, whereby tubular blocks of ice with unfrozen cores open at top .and bottom and with the ice occupying the Vmaj or portion of said molds are formed from raw water, then simultaneously draining the raw water and impurities from the centers of said blocks at the bottom and simultanecusly refilling the spaces soldrained from the bottom with distilled water, and subjecting the distilled water in said molds to the. ac-

tion of said refrigerating medium until congealed', thereby forming in conjunction with said raw water ice, solid ice blocks.

7. The process. of producing artificial ic comprising circulating a refrigerating metion thereby to produce tubular blocks of ice having unfrozen cores open at top and bottom and occupying the major portion of said molds, continuously agitating the raw water in said molds to separate impurities from the face of the forming ice, at one operation draining the raw water and impurities at the bottom from the cores ofsaid raw,

water jice blocks, at one operation refilling comprising circulating a refrigerating mejecting raw water Within said molds to the loo iio 

